Culture led Logistics

Logistics managers must lead culture of safety for new January laws
Managers in the logistics industry must take personal responsibility for leading a culture of safety in their business.

Training company Pivotal Performance believes it is the only way managers can truly protect themselves from new corporate manslaughter laws that start in January.

It also believes a genuine culture of safety can attract new business from clients keen to pick highly accountable suppliers.

Now the company is running a new one day seminar aimed at developing managers into safety leaders.

The seminar – called A Passion for Safety – will be in Pall Mall, London on Tuesday 16th December 2008.

It is being delivered by Pivotal Performance's managing director Tim French, an experienced business leader who has developed Pivotal into one of the UK's largest health and safety training companies.

He said: “There are two aspects to this. Firstly, the new corporate manslaughter laws that start in January put individual managers and business owners in the firing line.

“If you ask an employee to drive a company vehicle which isn't properly maintained, and they have an accident, you could be held responsible. And that means up to two years in jail or a £20,000 fine.

“The more positive aspect of developing a culture of safety is that it can be used to generate business. Increasingly, logistics clients are telling us that a demonstrable commitment to health and safety by the managers of the company results in contracts from new clients.”

Tim added: “A true culture of health and safety in a business can only come from its managers. We want to give them the tools they need to inspire their people to make a business truly safe.”

From January, the Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 will make employers personally accountable for the safety of their employees.

Breaches could see managers or directors jailed, or face fines of up to £20,000.

The seminar, a Passion for Safety, examines the science of behaviour and how to set out a safety culture and make it happen.

Time is spent focusing on overcoming resistance and leading change, with a set of golden rules to create safe habits.

Pivotal Performance is one of the UK's leading health and safety training companies with offices in Northamptonshire and Glasgow.

It has a unique way of training people called PPTplus, which empowers delegates to deal with human aspects of health and safety that can't be anticipated during normal training.